1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information process system that includes information process devices, an information process apparatus that creates or executes a process definition ticket defining a process comprised of a plurality of processes, a method of controlling the information process apparatus, and a storage medium that stores a program for implementing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an information process system in which a scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, a copy machine, or a multifunctional peripheral acting as a combination of these machines, a personal computer, a mail server, and so on are connected together via a network, and a process is carried out using services offered by these machines in cooperation with each other. Also, a method of efficiently managing, operating, and using the information process system has been proposed. According to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-187573, in the case that a plurality of devices are used in combination, device information on both an input device and an output device are obtained and managed, and only functions executable by combinations of the input device and the output device are provided in advance as a multifunctional system to a user. Moreover, in the case that a combination of operations using a plurality of devices are set, only settings executable by the combination are validated in the devices, and it is thus unnecessary for a user to manage combinations of restrictive conditions of an input device and restrictive conditions of an output device, which is convenient.
According to the above described prior art, because only functions that can be realized by combinations of a plurality of devices are provided to a user, and function settings are restricted, user convenience is improved. However, there may be a case where when there are a plurality of devices having the same function (for example, a scanner function) on a network, the plurality of devices are selected as a combination of potential devices that realizes a certain function. In this case, it is impossible to ascertain in advance which device's capability restricts and narrows choices of executable functions.
Also, it is assumed that a certain process is created in advance, a file that defines the process is distributed to individual users, and part of the process (for example, scanning a document and storing the same as a file) is executed using a device such as an MFP. In this case, there arises the problem that a device assumed to be used in the process definition file cannot execute a function assigned thereto for some reason. The above described prior art cannot cope with such a problem. Moreover, the same problem arises when part of functions of a combination of devices operated by users becomes unusable for some reason such as a failure even if the combination of the devices presents no problem at the time of preliminary checking.